Hand tools are commonly used by craftsmen, mechanics, and homeowners during the assembly, construction and/or repair of items ranging from large commercial buildings and automobiles to children's toys. Based on the almost endless uses for hand tools there are literally thousands of different variations of tools designed for specific trades or applications. Unfortunately, it is both expensive, impractical and extremely burdensome for craftsmen or homeowners to either own every type of tool or carry a multitude of hand tools on a job site due to their combined weight and burdensome nature.
To address the aforementioned problems associated with craftsmen and homeowners carrying a multitude of individual hand tools, "combination" hand tools have been designed which have numerous implements on one given tool, thus making the tool applicable for a variety of uses. The most common implements found on combination hand tools include pliers, knives, can openers, awls, bottle openers and other tools. Unfortunately, many of these tools are not commonly used in the trades and are not constructed in a durable manner conducive to heavy use by craftsman or mechanics.
Additionally, many combination hand tools are not designed in a manner which facilitates the opening and closing of the tool with one hand, and thus are impractical to use when attempting to hold an object with another hand. This is especially true when attempting to use a sharp knife blade, which in most combination hand tools cannot be opened with one hand while the combination tool is in a normal position of use, thus making the tool quite impractical. Further, due to the relatively small length of most combination hand tools, there is a problem with reduced torque and leverage while using many of the tool implements. Finally, typical combination hand tools cannot be disassembled to facilitate using two or more implements simultaneously, such as a screwdriver and a wrench.